BIORESOURCE ENGINEERING SENIOR SEMINAR

BIORESOURCE ENGINEERING SENIOR SEMINAR

THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2011
10:00-11:30
R2-046

Item 1: Leyüze Kozanoglu
Istanbul 101

As the only city in the world that is located on two continents, Istanbul has been part of many civilizations and cultures. Leyüze lived in Istanbul for 4 years and will provide some quick facts along with “must do’” in the city.

Leyüze is from Adana, a major city in Turkey on the Mediterranean coast. She graduated from the University of Western Ontario with a double major in Finance and Economics; worked for the Citigroup in Istanbul as a wealth manager for 2 years; completed a graduate certificate degree in Green Business Management last year and currently she is enrolled in the MSc in Integrated Water Resources Management program.


Item 2: Joshua Black
The City of Hamilton

Hamilton is a major city located in southwestern Ontario.  It is known mostly for two things: football and steel production. Overall, Hamilton has a reputation in Canada as being an undesirable destination. In reality, however, it is a unique city filled with natural beauty. I will try to convince you that, in fact, the stereotype of Hamilton is not accurate.

Josh Black grew up in Hamilton, Ontario and attended the University of Victoria before graduating from York University with a BA in International Studies.  Josh is currently enrolled in the MSc International Water Resource Management (IWRM) program.


Item 3: Luan Pan
Robots

More and more new technologies are changing our lives and robots are becoming more common in life, and specifically in agriculture. But we rarely have the opportunity to build our own robots. Luan will use a LEGO NXT education robot kit to show you how to build a robot and what it can do.

Luan Pan completed both her Bachelor Degree and Master Degree in Electronic Engineering in the China Agricultural University (Beijing, China) and started her PhD study in Agriculture and Biological Systems Engineering at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Nebraska, USA). She then transferred to the Bioresource Engineering Department at McGill. This is the second year of her PhD study.


Item 4: Lucia Shuang Ye Qiao
Phosphorus in Agricultural Soils

Nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium (N, P, K) are the three major agricultural fertilizers used around the world. Phosphorus, a non-renewable mineral, is often applied in excess to maximize crop yield. However, excess fertilization may lead to undesirable water pollution. In addition, the global reserve of phosphorus is being depleted so that phosphorus usage should be regulated.  Before regulation is put in place solid scientific understanding must be made available and this is achievable through modelling and experimentation. In this seminar I will give an overview of my current thesis project: its background, methods, and potential implications.

Lucia was born in central China and immigrated to Canada at the age of thirteen.  After completing a BSc Environmental Science at the University of Ottawa, she is now studying MSc Bioresource Engineering at McGill because she wishes to put her knowledge and her passion for the environment into practical use.  Her current thesis research focuses on agricultural phosphorus pollution, and she hopes to make a real contribution in this field.


Item 5: Salima Rhemtulla
Instrumental Hip Hop and “Beatmaking”

Hip hop music as a general rule consists of two elements: an instrumental track more commonly referred to as the “beat” and a vocal track known as the “rap”. The artist who crafts the “rap” is referred to as the “emcee” and the one who crafts the “beat” is referred to as the “producer”. Sad, but true, credit is more often only given to the emcee by the general public, whereas the producer usually goes unnoticed. The basic elements of “beatmaking” will be introduced in this presentation with the intent of raising awareness on the creation of instrumental music and the role of the “producer” in hip hop.

Salima is currently studying at McGill to attain a Master degree in Integrated Water Resources Management. She earned her Bachelor of Commerce degree in Finance and Risk Management at the University of Calgary in Alberta, and has worked for more than five years as a Joint Venture Auditor in the Oil and Gas Industry. Her love of travel and the environment, as well as learning about different cultures, has brought Salima to Montreal and she is very excited about her future role in helping to save the planet’s most precious resource.